convert
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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converts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
converted,
past participle, past
-
converting
present participle
-
to change (something) into a different form or properties; transmute; transform.
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to cause to adopt a different religion, political doctrine, opinion, etc..
to convert the heathen.
- Synonyms:
- proselytize
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to turn to another or a particular use or purpose; divert from the original or intended use.
They converted the study into a nursery for the baby.
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to modify (something) so as to serve a different function.
to convert an automobile factory to the manufacture of tanks.
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to obtain an equivalent value for in an exchange or calculation, as money or units of measurement.
to convert bank notes into gold; to convert yards into meters.
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Finance. to exchange voluntarily (a bond or preferred stock) into another security, usually common stock, because of the greater value of the latter.
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to change in character; cause to turn from an evil life to a righteous one.
to convert a criminal.
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Chemistry. to cause (a substance) to undergo a chemical change.
to convert sugar into alcohol.
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to invert or transpose.
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Law.
-
to assume unlawful rights of ownership of (personal property).
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to change the form of (property), as from realty to personalty or vice versa.
-
-
to appropriate wrongfully to one's own use.
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Logic. to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion.
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Computers. to subject to conversion.
verb (used without object)
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converts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
converted,
past participle, past
-
converting
present participle
-
to become converted.
-
Football. to make a conversion.
noun
verb
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to change or adapt the form, character, or function of; transform
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to cause (someone) to change in opinion, belief, etc
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to change (a person or his way of life, etc) for the better
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(intr) to admit of being changed (into)
the table converts into a tray
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(also intr) to change or be changed into another chemical compound or physical state
to convert water into ice
-
law
-
to assume unlawful proprietary rights over (personal property)
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to change (property) from realty into personalty or vice versa
-
-
(also intr) rugby to make a conversion after (a try)
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logic to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion
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to change (a value or measurement) from one system of units to another
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to exchange (a security or bond) for something of equivalent value
noun
Synonym Usage
See transform.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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convertsimple
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convertssimple
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have convertedperfect
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has convertedperfect
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am convertingprogressive
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are convertingprogressive
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is convertingprogressive
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have been convertingperfect progressive
-
has been convertingperfect progressive
Past
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convertedsimple
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had convertedperfect
-
was convertingprogressive
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were convertingprogressive
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had been convertingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of convert1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb converten, from Latin convertere “to change completely,” equivalent to con- intensive prefix + vertere “to turn”; noun convert replacing converse, Middle English convers, ultimately from Latin conversus; see also converse 2, verse 1
Origin of convert2
By shortening of convertible
Explanation
Think of the word convert as meaning "change," whether it is a person who adopts a new belief, or a changing action, such as when you convert dollars into euros. Many times we can catch a word's meaning by looking at its origins. In this case, the Latin con means "around," while vertere means "turn." So we can figure that convert means to "turn around," an object or one's thoughts on an idea. For example, you might convert a meat eater into a vegetarian or an empty-nester might convert the kids' bedroom into an exercise room.
Vocabulary lists containing convert
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
While most people have likely never heard of an actuator, they’re found across daily life — used in everything from smartphones and computers to refrigerators and cars, to convert power into motion.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Churches keep them in case a prayer meeting is challenged and its organisers are accused of trying to convert those inside.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
In a review recently published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, the team explored how beneficial fungi might help convert hostile lunar and Martian regolith into a more biologically suitable material for growing crops.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
On Monday, a federal judge cleared the legal pathway for a land-swap plan allowing SpaceX to convert a federal wildlife refuge into an expansion of the launch site.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Born in about 1500 in the Spanish town of Extremadura, Carvajal joined the Dominican order and went to South America to convert the Inka.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
As the equatorial Kelvin wave hits South America, the energy converts into a coastal Kelvin wave, and heads both north and south along the continents.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Some converts say they're ditching polish as a way of rebelling against an entrenched female beauty standard or to save time and money.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
How did he win converts while being outspoken about controversial truths?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The lime converts arecoline into a free base form, which makes it easier for the body to absorb.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
She seemed so earnest in her love of the religion and so dedicated to learning everything she could in the class for new converts, my father was immediately attracted to her.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Behind the bar, yeast busily converted sugars into alcohol inside giant stainless steel fermentation tanks.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
The bottom line: It won’t be converted into housing or farmland soon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
During emergencies, those facilities are converted into places of refuge from fires, floods or other disasters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Bilt points also can be converted to American Airlines tickets via its Alaska Airlines partnership.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
He asked some of his friends to find out all they could about this new convert, and he soon found out her name was Denise, but she had chosen the name Inayah when she converted.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
She produced 12 winners and made just 11 unforced errors, compared to her opponent's 24, converting five of her 14 break points with some impressive groundstrokes.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The soldiers carried Wi-Fi-capable radios that linked together to form a mobile network, converting their voices into digital signals so they could communicate through headsets much like on a Zoom call.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Airbnb has been using internal AI tools to build and release app features faster, converting more visitors into paid bookings.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The mice lacked any known mechanism for converting cystine into the cysteine their cells required.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
Preparing the site would require heavy construction, grading, and converting cow paths into four-lane highways.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
